Updated: Microsoft Xbox One to let you record live TV and download to Windows 10 devices

UPDATE: Microsoft has confirmed that you will only be able to record live TV on the Xbox One if you have an external hard drive attached. Xbox engineer Richard Irving said at Gamescom:

"You need an external hard-drive specifically for DVR because we want to keep the [storage] paths optimised between playing games and watching TV. We don't want them to interact with each other."

Microsoft has announced at Gamescom 2015 that the Xbox One will be able to record and watch live TV, making it a full DVR.

The new functionality will be launched early next year. But not only will it be for viewing locally on the console.

Thanks to Window 10 anything recorded can be punted out to Windows 10 devices like consoles and tablets elsewhere in the home.

Current TV offerings like EE TV now allow users to record and view live TV on up to 4 devices streamed across the home network. There are also rumours of Sky introducing a similar offering with its new SkyQ set-top box. So it makes sense for Microsoft to keep up with offerings of this sort.

You'll even be able to download Xbox One recordings onto your computer or tablet for viewing on the go. How Microsoft has worked out deals for this to work with studios who own the shows is unclear. Since this is a legal issue the launch date announced so far may only apply to the US. Here's hoping that's not the case and the launch early next year will be world wide.